Tuesday, July 21, 1998 Last modified at 12:17 a.m. on Tuesday, July 21, 1998

Families of cable car accident victims seek millions

By LAURA MYERS

Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - Families of some of the 20 Europeans killed when a Marine jet severed an Italian ski gondola cable are seeking tens of millions of dollars in damages from the U.S. government.

The attorney for a Polish man whose wife and son were killed filed a civil claim Monday for more than $10 million from the United States and Italy. The lawyer urged the U.S. government to waive its immunity so relatives of all 20 victims can collect U.S. compensation through American courts instead of waiting for Italian authorities, as required by an agreement under NATO, for which the jet was on assignment.

Meanwhile, a $31 million administrative claim for damages has been filed directly with the Pentagon's National Imagery and Mapping Agency on behalf of five Belgian victims of the accident in Cavalese.

Italian officials are supposed to handle all compensation claims from the Feb. 3 accident under a 1951 NATO Status of Force Agreement between Italy and the United States. But the families' attorneys say the U.S. government should pay now.

"The United States government should assume responsibility for this tragedy and make restitution to the families of the 20 victims of this disaster," said attorney John Eaves, Jr., of Jackson, Miss. " ... We believe America should set an example for the rest of the world and settle this matter fairly and expeditiously."

Eaves, representing Peter Strzelczyk of Poland, whose wife, Ewa, 37, and son Filip, 12, were killed in the Feb. 3 accident, filed the civil claims with the Italian Ministry of Defense and NATO and issued copies to the United States. Eaves represents another six families and seven other victims, and said he plans to file similar claims soon for them.

Meanwhile, an attorney for the five Belgians killed in the accident said he doesn't believe the families must go through the NATO treaty process to receive U.S. compensation.

Attorney Robert Cahill of McLean, Va., who filed civil claims a few weeks ago with the Defense Department, said if the U.S. government doesn't compensate the families, a lawsuit will follow.

"We don't agree that (the NATO treaty) prevents an action here in the United States against the federal government," Cahill said. "Given what happened, there is a clear-cut U.S. liability."

The Clinton administration has promised a speedy resolution of the case, but the attorneys fear it may take eight to 10 years before families receive damages under the NATO process.

Under the NATO agreement, the U.S. government would pay 75 percent of all compensation agreed to and Italy would pay the remaining 25 percent.

So far, the Clinton administration has sought $20 million from Congress to cover only property damage in the case.

"Unfortunately, money has so far been budgeted for twisted metal, but nothing for twisted bodies and lost lives," Eaves complained.

He said there's precedent for unilateral U.S. government compensation for military accident victims: In 1996, the United States paid $131.8 million to families of Iranians killed in 1988 when the U.S. Navy shot down an Iran Air jet, killing all 290 aboard.

However, that was not a NATO operation covered by alliance procedures.

In Italy, the Marine EA-6B Prowler jet sliced through the gondola cable during a daytime training mission in the Alps, sending 20 people to their deaths in a 350-foot plunge. The jet was flying about 370 feet off the ground, say investigators, despite a 2,000-foot minimum altitude requirement.

Earlier this month, a general ordered the pilot, Capt. Richard J. Ashby, and navigator, Capt. Joseph P. Schweitzer, both 30, tried for manslaughter at a court-martial in the United States. They are accused of causing the accident by hot-dogging through the mountain pass. They could face life in prison.